U.S. uncovers major immigration ID fraud scheme

washingtonexaminer.com
by Joel Gehrke
January 11, 2012 2:33pm

Conspirators across Puerto Rico and the continental United States stole the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and then sold the documents -- such as Social Security cards and birth certificates -- to illegal immigrants, the Department of Justice and U.S. immigration officials announced today.

The fraud ring was indicted December 29th, 2011, with "traffick[ing] the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens, corresponding Social Security cards, Puerto Rico birth certificates and other identification documents to undocumented aliens and others residing in the United States," according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This consipracy has operated at least since April of 2009.
The documents could be purchased for "prices ranging from $700 to $2500 per set," ICE charges.

"We believe hundreds and hundreds of identifications [were sold]," Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer told reporters on a conference call today. ICE Director John Morton noted on the same call that this 50-person indictment marks one of the three largest indictments handed down regarding identity fraud. Two smaller indictments were handed down in two states, to bring the approximate total of identity fraud conspirators to 70.

Breuer said that law enforcement officials "kept a keen eye" on the possibility that this fraud ring could be exploited by terrorists, but he told The Washington Examiner during the call that "there's no evidence in this case to suggest that those issues came to play."

Immigration officials accuse Worcester man of being ‘identity broker'

WORCESTER — One of 50 people swept up in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement enforcement action against a nationwide identity fraud ring is from the city.

ICE announced its arrest of 50 people in the U.S. and Puerto Rico this afternoon, the culmination of a two-year investigation into an identity-trafficking ring in which the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens were sold to others in more than a dozen U.S. cities, including Worcester.

Rafael Rivera Figueroa of Worcester is identified as an “identity broker” in federal court documents unveiled today along with the arrests.

From at least April 2009 to December 2011, conspirators in 15 states and Puerto Rico “trafficked the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens, corresponding Social Security cards, Puerto Rico birth certificates and other identification documents to undocumented aliens and others residing in the United States,” according to the ICE press release announcing the arrests.

According to the indictment, conspirators in Puerto Rico obtained Puerto Rican identities and identity documents, then sold Social Security cards and birth certificates for $700 to $2,500 per set.

“Identity brokers ordered the documents from the Puerto Rican suppliers, according to the indictment, by making coded telephone calls, using terms such as “shirts,” “uniforms” or “clothes,” to refer to identity documents. Specifically, the brokers asked for “skirts” for female customers and “pants” for male customers in various “sizes,” which referred to the ages of the identities sought by the customer,” the release said.

According to the indictment, Mr. Figueroa wired $300 from Western Union in February 2011 to Miledys Beltre in Puerto Rico. He ordered identity documents from Joaquin Beltre. In May, he received a parcel in his mailbox with “an unlawful document set and tax return documents related to the identity of the enclosed unlawful document set.”

As alleged in the indictment, “The customers generally obtained the identity documents to assume the identity of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and to obtain additional identification documents, such as legitimate state driver's licenses. Some customers allegedly obtained the documents to commit financial fraud and attempted to obtain a U.S. passport.”

Conspirators across Puerto Rico and the continental United States stole the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and then sold the documents -- such as Social Security cards and birth certificates -- to illegal immigrants, the Department of Justice and U.S. immigration officials announced today.

Arrests in Puerto Rico, US in document fraud case

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Fifty people have been accused of conspiring to sell the identities of hundreds of Puerto Ricans to illegal immigrants in the U.S. mainland in the largest single fraud case ever for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, authorities said Wednesday.

Hundreds of birth certificates, Social Security numbers and driver's licenses were sold for up to $2,500 a set as part of a black market ring based in Puerto Rico that operated from since at least April 2009, according to ICE Director John Morton.

"The vast majority were legitimate documents obtained by fraudulent or false means," he said.

The alleged ring consisted of suppliers, runners and brokers, who made coded phone calls asking for "skirts" for female customers and "pants" for male customers in specific "sizes", which referred to ages and identities sought, according to ICE.

The documents would be sent through priority or express mail from Puerto Rico to brokers that operated in at least 15 states including Ohio, Texas, Florida and North Carolina, officials said.

Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said suppliers even allegedly offered to exchange documents if customers were not satisfied, adding that he did not know how much money was made overall.

He said the investigation is still ongoing.

About 80 percent of the documents involved were sold by Puerto Ricans whose names were on them, officials said. Those documents often were then used to apply for a driver's license or a U.S. passport or to commit financial fraud.

Puerto Ricans are often an attractive target because they are U.S. citizens with Hispanic surnames.

Morton said another 20 arrest warrants were issued on Wednesday in separate but similar cases, with 61 of 70 suspects either arrested or whose surrender was arranged.

The probe began with a tip from police in Illinois, which led to a nearly two-year undercover investigation.

"We have gone after everyone involved in the chain: the leaders, the suppliers, the brokers, the runners," Morton said.

In 2010, The Associated Press reported that thousands of Puerto Ricans had become victims of identity fraud in part because the government, schools and other institutions did not secure copies of their birth certificates, which are routinely requested by sports leagues, churches and other groups.

In July 2010, Puerto Rico began annulling all old birth certificates and began issuing new ones with security features to cut down on theft and fraud cases. Morton and Breuer declined to comment on whether the measure has worked.

It is unclear how many new birth certificates have been issued. State Secretary Kenneth McClintock did not respond to requests for comment.

The 50 suspects were indicted by a federal grand jury on Dec. 29 on one charge each of conspiracy to commit identification fraud. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison.

When I saw this title I thought that somebody had finally found out that Janet Napolitano and the politicized Department of Homeland Security has been handing out ID and illegal visas to illegal aliens so they can work and vote illegally in the US.

Man arrested in Aurora as part of national ID theft bust

A police officer escorts a man after his arrest in connection with a document fraud case in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday Jan. 11, 2012. Fifty people have been accused of conspiring to sell the identities of hundreds of Puerto Ricans to illegal immigrants on the U.S. mainland in the largest individual fraud case ever for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, authorities said Wednesday. (AP Photo/El Vocero, Dennis A. Jones) PUERTO RICO OUT - NO USAR EN PUERTO RICO

Fifty people have been charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy to commit identification fraud in connection with a scheme to traffic the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens through fraudulent identity documents.

The indictment says that identity brokers were operating in Aurora and other towns in Illinois and more than a dozen other states.

The one-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on Dec. 29 and unsealed Wednesday. Defendants were arrested Wednesday in areas across the United States and Puerto Rico and will make initial appearances in federal court in the districts in which they were arrested, federal officials said.

“The indictment unsealed today alleges that from April 2009 to December 2011, the defendants operated an extensive black market, identity fraud ring,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer.

“The alleged conspiracy stretched across the United States and Puerto Rico, using suppliers, identity brokers and mail and money runners to fill and deliver orders for the personal identifying information and government-issued identity documents of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens.”

According to the indictment, conspirators in 15 states and Puerto Rico trafficked the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens — providing Social Security cards, Puerto Rico birth certificates and other identification documents to undocumented aliens and others in the U.S.

The indictment says the suspects in the Savarona area of Caguas, Puerto Rico, obtained the Puerto Rican identities and corresponding identity documents. Conspirators in locations around the U.S. — called identity brokers by the Justice Department — then solicited customers. The identity brokers allegedly sold Social Security cards and corresponding Puerto Rico birth certificates for prices ranging from $700 to $2,500 per set.

The identity brokers ordered the identity documents from Savarona suppliers by making coded telephone calls, including using terms such as “shirts,” “uniforms” or “clothes,” to refer to identity documents, the indictment said. Specifically, the brokers asked for “skirts” for female customers and “pants” for male customers in various “sizes,” which referred to the ages of the identities sought by the customers.

As alleged in the indictment, the customers generally obtained the identity documents to assume the identity of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and to obtain additional identification documents, such as legitimate state driver’s licenses.

The indictment says the identity brokers were operating in Aurora, DeKalb and Rockford in Illinois; and in towns in Indiana, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Justice Department said the charges are the result of Operation Island Express, a nationally coordinated investigation led by the ICE-Homeland Security Chicago Office. The Elgin Police Department, Illinois Secretary of State Police and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Illinois are among dozens of agencies involved.

The Justice Department said a website will be established to provide information about the case to potential victims and the public. Anyone who believes their identity may have been compromised in relation to the investigation may contact the ICE toll-free hotline at 866-DHS-2ICE ( 866-347-2423 ) and its online tip form at Homeland Security Investigations Tip Line.